More than $40k raised for Cure Kids

Ten weeks of sweat, sequins and sparkles came to an end in June when Manu Vatuvei was named winner of Dancing with the Stars NZ, taking home the Glitterball Trophy – but the celebration didn’t stop there.

Twelve charities are set to benefit from the public’s generous text-to-vote donations, with each charity receiving over $40,000 each to make a difference to the work they do in the community.

Carolyn Taylor did New Zealand proud during her three weeks on the show and her efforts will see $40,197.24 go towards her charity of choice, Cure Kids, fund research in the children health space.

“I had such a fun time on Dancing with the Stars NZ and was pleased to have ticked the achievement off my bucket list, while raising funds for the important work Cure Kids does to improve the lives of children in New Zealand and around the world,” says Carolyn.

While the former children’s TV presenter and media personality and her professional dancing partner, Johnny Williams, left the competition much sooner than hoped, the couple helped shine a light on child health.

“We were delighted that Carolyn chose to dance for Cure Kids and highlight the child health research we support,” says Cure Kids CEO Frances Benge.

“Carolyn was a winner in our eyes. She shone on the dance floor and put smiles on the faces of many children around New Zealand. We’re grateful for Carolyn’s support and the generosity of those who donated.”

Since inception 47 years ago, Cure Kids has funded research into a range of health conditions including childhood cancers, inherited heart conditions, epilepsy and infectious diseases to cystic fibrosis, sudden unexpected death syndrome in infants, stillbirth, burns and mental health.

This was the first year that all the funds raised during Three’s Dancing with the Stars were divided equally between all 12 charities and nearly 100 per cent of the text vote proceeds went towards each celebrity dancer’s charity of choice.

The Mediaworks Foundation says the figure received by each charity was the total amount raised, minus the hard costs required to cover audit and technical back-end fess, and less the week one funds raised which were donated to The Christchurch Foundation’s Our People, Our City fund.